When it comes to maintaining the lift truck, it could really be easy to overlook the simple yet essential tire. If you pick the wrong tire, you could end up accidentally with a huge increase in fleet operating costs, or increased safety risks, which is worse yet. If on the other hand, you choose right kind of tire you could enjoy substantial cost-savings, improved safety and an overall more effective operation. A properly chosen tire can actually reduce the downtime for replacement and probably last 40% longer.
The forklift tire is a quite complex component of the equipment. It is thus, easy to choose the wrong type accidentally. There are numerous different brands of tires and kinds, with different treads and compounds. This means you must be fully prepared with the correct information when you are going shopping for tires so that you could decide on some durable and safe alternatives to help extend the life of your forklift.
The specific kind of tire selected for a lift truck depends on the kind of surface you will be using the machinery on. For instance, indoor applications and smooth surfaces generally use tires which are made from rubber and that are smaller in size. On the contrary, outdoor applications require pneumatic tires. Pneumatic tires are filled with compressed air and have a rubber tread. These characteristics give them a great grip on rough and uneven surfaces.
Lift Truck Tire Safety
Each and every year, 200 individuals are killed in lift truck or forklift related accidents each year. Ensuring lift truck safety, like for example correct inspection practices, can all contribute in to preventing these horrible and dangerous accidents from taking place.
Pre-Work Check
Before each shift, the lift truck's tires need to be checked. Ideally, they should have the proper air pressure, as set forth by the manufacturer. This is very essential because if the tire pressure is too low, the machinery could inadvertently tip over when a load is being lifted.
Kinds
For indoor work, lift trucks that have solid tires made out of rubber are the best alternative.
Other factors
Occupational Health and Safety Administration or OSHA places a requirement on the frequent use of forklifts. These lift trucks are required to be checked at the end of every shift. The operator must inspect the machinery for any mechanical problems and the tires need to be looked over for excessive wear, cuts or apparent damage to the tires. Any problems which are detected must be dealt with as soon as possible to maintain safety.